Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer Butter Masala (New recipe) - – A delicious North Indian dish. Best with parathas , rotis , pulao …

Ingredients

For the cashew nut paste:

Soak 8 cashew nuts in 2 tablespoon water for 1 hour.  Cover and keep aside.

For brown onion paste:

Ingredients

2 tablespoon oil

2 onions (medium size), thinly sliced (separate each layer)

¼ teaspoon sugar

Method

Heat oil in a frying pan / karahi on a medium heat. Add thinly sliced onions and fry till light golden color (approximate time 10 -12 minutes).  Do not fry on high heat.

At this stage (color changes form pink to light golden and no moisture), add 1/4 teaspoon sugar and fry / toss on a medium to low heat for another 8 minutes / until done.  It will become crisp and golden color. Switch off the heat. Carefully remove fried onions from oil and keep aside to cool for 15 minutes. Do not use remaining oil for other cooking purpose. 

For the tomato puree:

Ingredients

2 big size tomatoes

½ cup water

Microwave method:

Wash tomatoes well.  Then cross-cut a slit into the bottom of the tomato. This helps even cooking and makes it easier to peel the tomato skins off later.

In a microwave safe bowl, boil tomatoes with ½ cup water (half of the level of tomatoes) for 4 minutes on high power (750 W). Keep aside to cool for half an hour. Gently remove boiled tomatoes from the bowl and peel the skin off the tomatoes. Reserve tomato stock. It may be ¼ to ½ cup.

Normal cooking:

In a bowl, boil tomatoes (cross – cut a slit into the bottom of the tomato. This helps even cooking and makes it easier to peel the tomato skins off later) with 1 cup water for 12 – 15 minutes until done and soft. Keep aside to cool for half an hour. Gently remove boiled tomatoes from the bowl and peel the skin off the tomatoes. Reserve tomato stock. It may be ¼ to ½ cup.

For the paste:

In a small mixer bowl, transfer  boiled tomatoes (without stock), soaked cashew nuts (along with water in which it’s soaked) and brown onion. Make a smooth paste. Do not add water when making paste. It should be thick and creamy in consistency.

Other ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoon thick ginger – garlic paste

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

Cashew nut – tomato – brown onion paste

 ½ cup water (100 ml – 150 ml water)

¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

½ teaspoon garam masala power or a mix of ¼ teaspoon clove powder, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder

200 g paneer (cottage cheese), cut into cubes

1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

Method

Dilute red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder in 2 tablespoon water and keep aside (spice mix).

In a pan or karahi, heat oil on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and fry onions till golden color.

Add ginger – garlic paste and fry for 2  minutes or until  raw smell goes.

Add diluted red chilli powder – turmeric powder and coriander. Fry on a low heat for 2 minutes until water dries up and well combined with all the ingredients.

Add tomato – cashew nut – brown onion paste, reserved tomato stock, salt to taste, garam masala powder and ¾ cup water. Mix all the ingredients well. Cover with a lid and cook on a medium heat for 10 – 12 minutes until it boils vigorously.

At this stage, add paneer cubes. Mix well. Cover again with a lid and cook on a medium for 5 minutes until paneer well cooked. Paneer will cook very fast. Check the texture of the paneer. If it’s soft and spongy in texture, switch off the heat. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with parathas / rotis / pulao..